Tots as young as 3 and 4 years old are learning to ice skate

Carter Leinweber, 3, of Shillington enjoys his time on the ice as he gets some help from instructor Audrey Turner of Wyomissing.

Not far removed from the toddler stage, they are now tots on ice.

"Hurry up, we got to get back skating," 3-year-old Carter Leinweber impatiently told his parents, Jason and Leah of Shillington.

Carter, who only learned to master standing up and walking about two years ago, had to take a bathroom break.

He wasn't in the mood to be fussy in the lavatory during his first ice-skating lesson at the Learn to Skate program at Body Zone Sports and Wellness Complex, Spring Township.

"Carter's done some recreational skating, but he was pesting to have Santa Claus get him lessons, so Santa got him lessons," said Jason, 28, a soda vendor who loved playing hockey as a boy, lost some teeth in the process and described himself as a part of "a big hockey (fan) family."

"He said he wants to skate like the Olympics," said Leah, quoting her son exactly.

Leah, a payroll administrator, helped Carter with safety helmet and protective elbow pads before her determined son wobbled off to conquer the ice.

"No, I don't skate," Leah said. " I tried to skate, but I fall. My ankles are too bad. I take the videos."

So did a lot of other mothers proud of their children bent on remaining upright while chasing sliding orange safety cones or scattered stuffed animals that were supposed to have escaped from a cardboard box zoo.

Children pretended they were choo-choo trains, penguins, scrunched-down teapots and Superman and Superwoman, flying freely over the ice.

"I love being Superwoman, " said 4-year-old Gabriella "Gabby" Row of Spring Township, in a bright pink-and-red-polka-dot jacket with a hood, who was accompanied by her stepdad, Jason Rozum, 32,

As Superwoman, she was sprawled over a box and dragged over the ice by instructors, but she was last seen on her own two skates valiantly chasing an orange safety cone and slowly stumbling, heading for a fall.

There were no tears, no cries, no shrieks of pain.

"With the first lesson, if you can keep 3-and-4-year-olds on the ice for 45 minutes without crying or becoming really frustrated, you've accomplished quite a lot," said veteran instructor Audrey Turner, 49, of Wyomissing, originally from Boston, a figure skater in the Ice Capades for four years.

Her husband, John, played hockey in prep school and college in New England, and her three sons all played hockey, too.

Turner's daughter, Chelsey, 22, a Philadelphia Flyers hockey team promotional ice skater and a Temple University journalism student, was helping her mother with the class of seven children.

"All of them are so excited," Chelsey said. "Some may be scared at first, but they love it."

While this hardy New England family has chosen to live in what is sometimes viewed as ice-and-snow-phobic southeastern Pennsylvania, their gift is demonstrating the joys of winter to the youngest local inhabitants, even if it's indoors in a chilly skating rink.

Turner said the popularity of the local Reading Royals ice hockey team and publicity surrounding Olympic figure skating have driven a growing interest in skating in the area, especially in the past 10 years.

"I didn't start skating until the third grade, but you're seeing much more interest here at younger ages," Turner said.

"I tell the parents to let the child decide if he wants to skate, because you want him to have fun and enjoy it - you don't want burnout," she said.

The energetic Miss Audrey, as she is dubbed by her skating tykes, seemed to be having so much fun gliding about with her daughter and another skating instructor, Anne Missan, that the children apparently just wanted to imitate it.

It's no accident that Turner's first lesson to her charges was to teach them how to fall, as if they were melting down to the skating rink like an ice-cream cone.

"I like to fall," Carter said.

And that's half the battle at this early stage, while successfully getting up and staying up is the other half.

Andrew Borneman, 4, Sinking Spring, held onto his skates, pressing them tightly to his chest upon entering the class.

Later, his grandmother, Carol Heinly, Bern Township, snapped on his safety helmet before he ventured out on the ice.

"He was here for a five-week program before, and he's back," said Heinly, watching her grandson skate from the sidelines. "My daughter wants him to be exposed to different things, and I think he likes this better than soccer."

When the children do gain confidence on the ice, Turner described the skating experience as a great escape, a chance to show skills in sports or to perform by dancing to music, an opportunity to simply flow and fly along in grace and style.

Heinly, through a grandmother's eyes, saw the children at the end of class pushed by their instructors in a speedy chair ride, She immediately recognized the freewheeling treat that it was.

"Now that's what I'd like to do, go for a chair ride on ice," she said.